Interested in Early Canadian Rock History? Take a Look at this New Book

There’s a serious rush to document Canadian music history–and about time, too. After years of ignoring our musical past, new books are appearing every year. One of the latest is As the Years Go By: Conversations with Canada’s Folk, Pop and Rock Pioneers by a couple of freelancers from London, Ontario. Mark Kearney and Randy Ray,

After seeing one of those “where are they now” columns in Rolling Stone, they decided it was time someone took that concept and expand it into a full book on Canadian music pioneers. Many of the artists included in the book had hits in the era before the Cancon rules but many (but not all) have faded into obscurity over the decades. This book brings back those names and those songs.

For example, the book takes its name from this hit by Mashmakhan, who came out of L’Île-Perrot, Quebec.

Other artists covered in the book’s 480 pages include The Haunted (a pre-punk band?), R. Dean Taylor (a white singer signed to Motown), Motherlode, the Bells, A Foot in Cold Water, Skylark, Edward Bear, Susan Jacks, the Paupers, Steppenwolf, Bobby Curtola, Terry and Susan Jacks (not to mention The Poppy Family), Moxy and dozens of others. If you listened to Canadian radio anytime between 1960 and 1979, those names will mean a lot to you.

Learn more about the book here.